“The New Standards”
Chiselling (the music of Cold Chisel)

Saturday April 19th, 7.30pm, Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall 

Stephen Magnusson - Guitar
Frank DiSario – Double Bass

The project “Chiselling” brings long time friends Stephen Magnusson and Frank DiSario together with a rather unusual take on the music of the Australian band ‘Cold Chisel’. With both musicians being huge Cold Chisel fans, Magnusson and DiSario will select several compositions to use as frameworks for their improvisations.

Commission Concert, Friday 25th April, 7.30pm, BMW Edge Auditorium, Federation Square

Tickets now available through Moshtix:

http://www.moshtix.com.au/record.asp?leventid=18170

After releasing his debut album in September, 2007, Hannaford is now exploring large scale rhythmic and harmonic schemes in a solo piano context. As well as performing original works and improvisations Marc will also perform John Rodger’s ‘Canon at the unison in inversion and augmentation’.

Marc Hannaford:

“The musicians work best in a tight group context. Still, at the same time, their personal improvisational digressions are dazzling, creating an accumulated effect of well-planned narrative and definite solidarity of sound. ….this kind of conviction and openness to the possibilities of collective and open improvisation is astounding…” – Eyal Hareuveni (allaboutjazz.com)

“This pianist makes you believe there’s still hope for the future…nay for the present of improvisation while half of the jazz world survives with one foot in the grave.” – Andrea Ferraris (chindlk.com)

“…it is Hannaford who’s at the centre, throwing with loose notes, breaking harmonies apart into thousands of atoms, holding very still and then again exploding into a firework of dissonance.”, “In its impulsive and infectious nature, ‘The Garden of Forking Paths’ is also an irresistible invitation to make good on that first request: Once you’ve come to enjoy it, you’ll want find out how it fits into the picture of the Australian improvisational scene.” – Tobias Fischer (tokafi.com)

“Hannaford’s playing style is as bold as his compositional concept.” - textura.org

‘….impressed with his beautiful time feel and melodic invention’,

‘…..a highlight of the <2006 Wangaratta Jazz> festival’
– John Clare (sima.org.au)

“…a formidable two-handed pianist, making treble dissonances ping over huge bottom chords, thundering and crashing in bursts like a freeze-frame avalanche and suddenly retreating to some fernery of rarefied calm.”, “deeply satisfying music” - (Sydney Morning Herald)

‘…one of the best jazz pianists in the country’ – Eric Dunan (Head of Jazz-Wollongong Conservatorium)

‘…complex, simple, aggressive, delicate, triumphal, dazzling, acerbic and engaging.” – Roger Mitchell (Herald Sun)

Marc Hannaford began performing professionally on the piano in 2001 has amassed an impressive list of performance, composition and education credentials.
At just 24 years old Marc was awarded 2nd Prize in the 2006 National Jazz Awards, which is open to any improvising pianist in Australia under the age of 35.
2007 has seen him included as one of the four national finalists under 35 in the Music Council of Australia’s prestigious Freedman Fellowship (held at the Sydney Opera House) as well as one of three nominees for the Australian Jazz ‘Bell’ Awards Young Jazz Musician of the Year.
He was one of four jazz composers to be nominated for the 2006 Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival’s annual commission, and in 2004 was commissioned by the Half Bent Winter Music Festival to present a suite of new music for septet. Marc’s composition ‘Out and Out’ was nominated as a semi-finalist in the jazz category of the 2006 International Song Contest.
He has presented music as part of Australia’s vibrant improvised music, multimedia and jazz scene under the banner of organizations such as The Wangaratta Festival of Jazz, The Stonnington Jazz Festival, The Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival, The Melbourne Jazz Co-operative, The Make-It-Up Club, The Sydney Improvised music Association and many others.
In 2006 he received a ‘Skills Arts and Development’ Grant from the Australia Council of the Arts to travel to Brisbane for intensive study with violinist John Rodgers, drummer Ken Edie and saxophonist Elliot Dalgleish. This period of tutelage significantly altered his outlook on improvisation, and has led to an intense period of private study on traditional counterpoint, serialism and post-serialism, polyrhythm and jazz interpretation.
Marc released his debut album: “The Garden of Forking Paths” on Extreme (www.xtr.com) in 2007. It has been lauded by Lawrence Donahue-Greene (chief editor allaboutjazz.com), Paul Grabowsky (Australian jazz pianist/composer) and John Rodgers (leading contemporary composer/ violinist) as some of the most original and exciting improvised music in recent times.
He has given workshops and masterclasses at many of Australia’s leading creative institutions including the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and The Australian National University in Canberra.
In 2005 Marc was awarded an Australia Council of the Arts bUZZ grant for a recording of original music with his septet. The resulting record, ‘Parallels, Layers’ has been received with much acclaim from within the jazz community.
Marc completed his Bachelor of Music (Jazz) and his Graduate Diploma in Performance (Jazz) at the Australian National University in 2004 with the assistance of the Michael Foster Scholarship.
During this time Marc’s teachers included Sydney pianists renowned Paul McNamara and Matt McMahon, Canberra pianists John Luxton and Colin Forbes, Melbourne pianist/composer Andrea Keller. He has also received lessons from New York pianists Jason Moran and Andy Milne and New York saxophonist Greg Osby.
Marc has performed both as a sideman with such well-known international musicians such as Wycliffe Gordon (trombonist with the Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra, USA) and Rex Richardson (USA) as well as saxophonists Dale Barlow, Jamie Oehlers and Julien Wilson, trumpeters Miroslav Bukovsky, Scott Tinkler and Eugene Ball, violinist and composer John Rodgers and drummers Ken Edie, Ronny Ferella and Allan Browne. He has also appeared in such ensembles as the Scott Tinkler Quartet, the Bennett’s Lane Big Band, Jamie Oehlers/Marc Hannaford Monk Project, Eugene Ball’s Messiaen Ensemble, The David Rex Quartet and the multi-media ensemble The Maximalists. Marc is currently working on projects in a variety of formats. He has resided in Melbourne, Australia for the past 4 years.

Kate Vigo - vocals
Nathan Slater – acoustic guitar
Damien Slingsby - piano
Jules Pascoe – double bass
Ben Hendry – drums
Anita Quayle - cello
Andrew Nock - violin
Rachel Kim - violin
Lachlan Dent - cello
Myles Mumford - trombone
Alistair Parsons – trombon

Saturday 26 April, 9.30pm

Café 303

$10

The Kate Vigo Quintet perform with The Melbourne Underground Orchestra (M.U.O.) to form a mesmerising eleven piece collective.

A memorable show, the underground orchestra add a new depth to Kate Vigo’s original compositions, bringing together their old-world sound with the upbeat yet soulful grooves of the Quintet. The result is an exciting collaboration and a powerful new sound that achieves almost classical aesthetic. Kate’s music combines beautiful subtleties reminiscent of the soulful delivery of Donny Hathaway with a distinct sweetness, and her arranged compositions appeal to diverse audiences in their ability to capture the essence of a lost world.

Young Melbourne singer/songwriter Kate Vigo is forging a growing reputation as a performer who combines musicality with style. Her voice has been described as combining beautiful subtleties reminiscent of the soulful delivery of Donny Hathaway with the sweet mournful tones of Billie Holiday.

Australian music industry icon, the late Clifford Hocking, who presented Kate Ceberano at her first performance at the Melbourne Concert Hall in 1984, said of Kate Vigo, “Kate’s singing bowled me over in the same way that Kate Ceberano’s did when I first heard her. She is a remarkable talent.”

Kate performed at a special Celebration held in honour of Clifford Hocking at the Melbourne Concert Hall (Hamer Hall), in 2006. She performed alongside artists such as Kate Ceberano, Paco Pena, and The Soweto Gospel Choir.

Kate Vigo’s music channels the old-world sadness of Billie Holiday into an almost classical aesthetic, which has been described as an “acoustic Portishead”. Guitarist Nathan Slater’s gentle melodies blend with Ben Hendry’s sensitive drums and Michelle Wheelan’s richly toned double bass.

Kate started singing professionally in 2003 and began her formal music education in 2004 when she enrolled in the Victorian College of Arts to study voice improvisation. Her teachers described her as a natural talent who quickly found an ability to write haunting lyrics and music. Her growing love and appreciation of classical music has also led her to write orchestral arrangements which she has incorporated into her songs.

Music wasn’t Kate’s first career choice, “I completed a 3 year degree in fashion design at RMIT but my interest turned towards music when I started going to jazz jam sessions at Dizzy’s Jazz bar.” Kate became a favourite there and was invited to do a few gigs there by Steve Sedegreen. Since then she has gone on to perform at venues such as Manchester Lane, The Kitten Club, The Paris Cat, The Comfy Chair, The Stork, Spleen Bar and Stone Alley with a band she put together called Kate and the VIGONAUTS.

Kate recently launched her debut album It is Love at Australia’s premiere jazzclub Bennetts Lane, and she is currently performing at venues around Melbourne, including the Paris Cat and Blue Diamond. In the near future she plans to record an album in which she hopes to work with larger scale orchestral arrangements as well as “eclectic, organic sounds used in an electronic setting”. Kate also hopes to collaborate with local talents; “there are so many amazing arrangers and composers in Melbourne I would love to work with”.

Joe Talia – Metal and Found Objects, Junk, Electronic

Wednesday 23 April, 7.30pm

Blank Tape presents @ Northcote Uniting Church

$12/10
In this rare solo performance, Joe will be using extended bowing techniques and electronics manipulation to explore the rich, spectral sonorities of different metal objects, from cymbals and gongs to junk computer parts, spring reverb tanks and found objects.

Joe Talia is a drummer, avant garde percussionist and sound engineer based in Melbourne, Australia.
Joe has always immersed himself in all aspects of music. Never satisfied with containment to any one style or discipline, Exploring a diverse range of musical styles such as, avant-jazz, improv, musique concrete, rock, contemporary classical and film music, drawing influences from many places. In 1999 Joe studied improvisation at the Victorian College of the Arts, where he began to develop a highly unique style of drumming that blends driving melodic and rhythmic invention, with textural and sonic exploration. Joe graduated from the VCA in 2001 and has since become one of Melbourne’s most in demand creative musicians.
Joe has been performing, recording and touring with some of Australia’s finest, musicians and ensembles, including Ned Collette Band, Thembi Soddell, David Shea, Francis Plagne, Marco Fusinato, Andrea Keller Quartet, Post, The Bartok Project, City City City, Rand and Holland, Erik Griswold, Anita Hustas, Adam Simmons Toy Band, New Blood and countless others.

Jacqueline Gawler - voice
Fran Swinn - guitar
Chris Hale - electric bass
Ben Hendry - drums

Thursday 24 April, 7.30pm

Northcote Uniting Church

$12/10

A longstanding singer/composer/percussionist with award-winning vocal outfit Coco’s Lunch, Jacqueline Gawler leads this band through a colourful feast of haunting melodies, feisty lyrics and rock/pop elements. This group plays beautifully crafted songs that speak to the soul. With an emphasis on text with a social conscience and poetic integrity, this band blurs the borders of jazz, rock and pop elements with an energy that is evocative and electric.

Anthony Schulz – Piano/Accordion
Anita Hustas - Bass

Saturday 19 April, 7.30pm

Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall

$12/10 Limited seating.

Bookings 0417-364-314

Born in 2005, Koffer was formed by Pianist and Accordionist Anthony Schulz as a vehicle for his original compositions which are based on and often performed with text from his favourite literature. Anthony and Anita Hustas (Double Bass) have worked together on numerous other projects but Koffer is viewed as an opportunity to explore the intimate and sometimes dangerous world of the duo.

Cesar Rodrigues (guitar, laptop, 9V units, loops and samples)
Monty Mackenzie (alto sax, loops)

Wednesday 23 April, 7.30pm

Northcote Uniting Church

$12/10

Harmless combine acoustic, electronic and found sounds to create sonic landscapes, whilst remaining faithful to their improvisational and instrumental roots. Their extensive field recordings are played as samples in their performances and rehearsals which are often recorded, re sampled, and thrown back out in proceeding performances to create a deep and unique tapestry of timbre and texture.

Cesar Rodrigues is Melbourne based guitarist/composer/producer who began his musical journey listening to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in the back seat of the family car. He picked up the guitar for the first time at the age of 16, and since then has completed an adv dip in music performance and a BA in Music Performance. He has studied with some of the countries leading performers and educaters including Stephen Magnusson, Geoff Hughes, Ashleigh Cross, Andrea Keller, Adrian Sheriff, and Robert Vincs. Cesar is essentially an improvising musician, though has also been involved in the Experimental, Jazz, Pop, Hip Hop, RnB, and Soul idioms. He has worked with some of Melbourne’s best musicians in the jazz scene and beyond including Scott Tinkler, Andrew Gander, Joe Talia, as well as Ella and Jesse Hooper, Phoenix Lake, and Rhonda Burchmore. Cesar has had extensive experience as band leader in such acts as, Ctrl Alt Dlt, Cesar Rodrigues Quartet, Lethalogica, and Harmless. He is also a major contributer to bands like Flow And Plenty, and Monsoon Moon as guitarist and has co production credits and songwriting credits with both bands. Cesar has also composed music for various documentaries, Short and Feature Films, including “Without A Shadow” which was nominated for best original score at the “Queensland New Film Awards” in 2007. He has Produced/Engineered music for acts such as String Theory, John Patterson Trio, Joe Talia, Cleverhorse, Hailey Cramer, Kate Vigo and much more. Cesar continues to explore music at its boundaries and various other musical styles…

Monty Mackenzie is a local saxophonist that began playing the instrument after being inspired by buskers on the streets of New Orleans while on a family holiday. He has completed an Advanced Diploma of Music at Box Hill College of Tafe, as well as a Bachelor of Music Performance at the Victorian College of the Arts. During his time completing these courses Monty has studied under musicians such as Jamie Oehlers, Julien Wilson, Tony Buchanan and Adrian Sheriff. Apart from Harmless, Monty has performed around Melbourne with artists and groups such as Cleverhorse, Nathan Slater quintet, Hailey Crammer, Ctrl Alt Dlt, Cesar Rodrigues Quartet, Paul Grabowski, Flow and Plenty, John Patterson and many more. Monty has also been involved in festivals such as Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festivals, The Melbourne Electric jazz Festival and The Half Bent Music Festival.

Flap!

Jess Guille - ukulele, vocals
Eamon McNelis - trumpet, vocals
Mark Elton - bass, vocals
Ben Hendry - drums, cymbals and junk aluminium

Sunday April 27th

Big Arse Sunday
Northcote Town Hall

$20 + booking fee pre-sale$26/20 at door or through Moshtix:

http://www.moshtix.com.au/record.asp?leventid=18171

Formed in 2007, Flap! are quickly becoming a hit on the Melbourne scene.
Featuring dance-y songs by Jess and Eamon, and reinterpretations of jazz classics, 80’s pop hits and all manner of other material, Flap! sound like a bunch of traveling minstrels from 1930’s rural America who somehow found a time machine and ended up at a Kylie Minogue concert.

Eugene Ball – trumpet
Geoff Hughes – guitar

Thursday 24 April, 7.30pm

Northcote Uniting Church

$12/10

Having played and recorded together for many years with Allan Browne’s quintet, Geoff and Eugene are exploring the duo setting. Pitting guitars and a rack that resembles a miniature off-shore oil rig against a lone trumpet and a packet of tin-foil, this music promises to be at once sublime and ridiculous.

Eugene Ball

As one of Australia’s most active and versatile trumpet players Eugene performs extensively throughout Australia and around the World with groups including the Hoodangers, the Andrea Keller Quartet, the Allan Browne Quintet, the Australian Art Orchestra, the Bennetts Lane Big Band and the Ball/Magnusson/Talia trio.

He has performed throughout Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and the Former Soviet States, Asia, North and South America, India and the Pacific. Freelancing highlights include performances with Paul Grabowsky, Mike Nock, Tony Gould, Graham Lyall, Gordon Brisker and Jamie Cullum.

Eugene is a prolific composer and arranger whose work is favoured by Melbourne’s performing elite, and has featured on countless recordings and television and film productions. He has received numerous commissions from specialist music high schools and universities and remains in continual demand as a freelance arranger.

Eugene was awarded second place in the Wangarratta Jazz Awards in 2003, and was a finalist in the prestigious Freedman Jazz Fellowship in 2003 and 2006. He also holds a Masters Degree in Performance and Composition (Melbourne University) for which he was awarded a Melbourne Research Scholarship.

In addition to his outstanding record of professional achievement, Eugene has sustained an acclaimed career in music education, and has since 1998 taught the trumpet, improvisation and composition as well as directed award winning ensembles at Eltham High School, Monash University and the Victorian College of the Arts.

Eugene has also been actively involved in the creation and promotion of performance opportunities for many well-known and emerging artists through his work in establishing the performance space/organization Lebowski’s. Eugene was also a pivotal member in the creation of the Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival.

www.eugeneball.com

Geoff Hughes

Originally from NZ,Geoff completed a Classical Guitar Major in Wellington and migrated to Europe where he lived for 5 years. Whilst a student at the Royal Hague Conservatory Geoff studied and performed with some of Jazz’ great Artists including Herb Ellis, Pat Metheny, Dave Leibman Bob Brookmeyer and Bob Berg.
Since arriving in Melbourne in 1994 Geoff Hughes has been a playing and recording with some of the country’s most outstanding jazz artists..
He has featured with Ben Robertson and Allan Browne on “The Drop” which received critical acclaim nationally and on Browne’s “Collected Works”, He has performed and composed for the Allan Browne Quintet’s releases ,’Cyclosporin” and “The Drunken Boat” recorded three CD’s and a DVD with jazz vocalist Michelle Nicolle , Pianist Aaron Choulai’s “Korema”, and many other recordings with a diverse range of artists.
Geoff continues to perform and record in Melbourne with various groups and artists and is on the permanent staff of the VCA Improvisation Department where he teaches Guitar and Aural Studies.

http://www.myspace.com/geoffh2

Ken Edie - Drums, Simon Barker - Drums, Scott Tinkler - Trumpet, Carl Dewhurst - Guitar, Marc Hannaford - Piano

Sunday 20 April, 8pm

The Toff in Town

$10 + bf/ $12 on door

The Antripodean Collective is an ever-changing group of the finest improvising musicians in Australia. The aim of this group is to explore improvised music from every angle and in every form, going beyond the boundaries of jazz. The musicians include Scott Tinkler, John Rodgers, Paul Grabowsky, Marc Hannaford, Ken Edie, Carl Dewhurst, Philip Rex and Simon Barker.

Scott Tinkler and Roger Richards, Director of Extreme Recordings, act as curators seeking to create situations that challenge the comfort zones of each musician in order for them to explore all possibilities. Each configuration creates differences, sparks a new dialogue and seeks out the collective spirit. The result is a music that reveals highs and lows, strengths and weaknesses, to reward the listener with its many moments of brilliance.